Student Conference Travel

The MSGC Student Travel Fund provides support for undergraduate students to travel to present original research at professional and academic conferences. There are seven total awards per year with limited opportunities per semester.

Eligibility & Award Stipulations

These awards are available to undergraduate and graduate students who are involved in NASA-related research.

• Students must be enrolled full-time at a MSGC Consortium campus and be in good standing academically and with MSGC (final reports and presentations submitted if applicable and responding to communications).
• Students may apply for an award up to $750 to do an oral presentation, present a paper, or a poster at a conference. Expenses can include airfare, mileage, hotel, meals and/or conference registration fees. 
• This award cannot be used for trips to complete, or shadow, research. 
• Students are required to seek the remainder of the cost from other sources. Such as from their home institution, program, and/or travel scholarships from the conference for students.
• Students are required to submit a report within two weeks of returning from travel.

Application

Students must submit the following information to MSGC via the Submittable portal on the website:

1. Contact information, including full name, phone number, email address, current Montana college or university and major in Submittable.
2. Have you been funded for an MSGC internship or apprenticeship previously?
3. Summary of opportunity you are applying to: research topic, location, name, dates of conference and a connection to NASA. Also indicate if you have received a travel award in the past. 
4. A description of other funding opportunities student has explored at their campus and/or through conference support.
5. One recommendation letter from the research mentor speaking to the student's ability to represent the research well at the conference, their commitment to maximizing the conference offerings, and describing the benefit to the student’s professional development. Please reach out to the faculty mentor as soon as possible to give them an adequate amount of time to write your recommendation letter.
6. Essay component (1 page): Please describe how this award will advance your research and/or professional goals?

Application Due Dates

Applications are considered on a rolling basis throughtout the year but need to be completed at a minimum of 2 months prior to travel.Applications may be saved and completed at anytime.

Notification

Students will be notified within 2 weeks of submission on whether they have received funding and if so, in what amount.

Award Details

Students will work with MSGC on travel details. Students should expect to be reimbursed after their trip.  Award recipients will be expected to submit a final report, 1-2 pages (max), within 2 weeks of completing travel. In the final report include details such as:

• Conference attended
• Date of attendance
• Other travel sponsors
• An overview of the conference
• An overview of your presentation
• A description of relevance and impact of your participation in the conference for your studies and/or career goals. 

If you are interested in exploring other opportunities for presenting your research at conferences, here are some additional funding resources with dates and deadlines.

 

College or University	Opportunity	Max. Award	Deadlines	Notified	Website
Montana State University	The Dean's Student Travel Fund	$1000	Fall Spring		https://www.montana.edu/lettersandscience/travel_grants.html
	LRES Student Conference Travel	$500	Jan 31st Apr 30th Sept 30th Nov 30th	2 weeks following application	https://landresources.montana.edu/resources/student-travel-funding.html
	College of Agriculture	$300	Nov 15th Apr 15th	2 weeks following application	https://ag.montana.edu/students/studentscholartravelawards.html
	Graduate Professional Advancement Grants	$500-$1000			https://www.montana.edu/gradschool/fellowships/advancement_grant.html
	Undergraduate Scholars Program	$500	4-5 weeks prior to travel	1-2 weeks following application	https://www.montana.edu/usp/apply/travel-grants.html
University of Montana	Experiential Learning Scholarship Fund	Up to $2,000	Sep 25th Feb 4th Mar 28th	Nov 1st Mar 11 May 5	https://www.umt.edu/experiential-learning-career-success/elsf/default.php
	Math Travel Support	Previously $600 for presenting; otherwise $400	Second Friday in October; Fifth Friday of Spring Semester		https://www.umt.edu/math/undergraduate/majors/support/travel-support.php
American Chemical Society	ACS Student Committees Professional Meeting Grant	$2000	Rolling	Accommodate	https://www.acs.org/funding/grants/acs-student-communities-professional-meeting-grant.html